MOUNT ST. MARY'S (4-6, 1-1 NEC) at ROBERT MORRIS (1-9, 0-3 NEC)
Wednesday, April 8, 2015, 4:00 p.m.
Joe Walton Stadium, Moon Township, Pa.
GAME NOTES | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
MOUNT UPDATE: Mount St. Mary's rallied to defeat Bucknell, 12-11, on Saturday at Waldron Family Stadium on campus. The Mount outscored Bucknell, 3-0, in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Justin Gosnell scored the game-winning goal with 4:34 left in the contest. Bubba Johnson led the Mount with four goals, including the first two in the fourth quarter. Mark Hojnoski added three goals and two assists while Gosnell chipped in a pair of goals in the win. Frankie McCarthy made a career-high 19 saves while adding a pair of caused turnovers and four ground balls in the victory.
ABOUT ROBERT MORRIS: Robert Morris lost to Saint Joseph's, 18-11, on Saturday to fall to 1-9 overall and 0-3 in the Northeast Conference. James Rahe had two goals and two assists while Eric Rankel and Adrian Torok-Orban added a pair of goals each in the loss. Chase Rose made 11 saves in the game. Rahe leads Robert Morris with 29 points (14g, 15a) while Rankel is second on the team with 22 points (15g, 7a). Luke Laskiewicz has scored a team-high 16 goals. Rose has started nine of 10 games in goal, posting a 12.23 goals against average and a .479 save percentage.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES: The Mount holds a 4-3 lead in the all-time series with Robert Morris, but the Colonials have won three of the past four meetings. Last year, Robert Morris defeated the Mount, 15-8, at Waldron Family Stadium. The Mount's last win over Robert Morris was a 16-15 overtime victory in the NEC semifinals on May 4, 2012, at RMU's Joe Walton Stadium. The Mount is 1-3 vs. Robert Morris in NEC regular season matchups, and is 2-2 all-time on the road against RMU.
STRONG DEFENSIVE EFFORT: The Mount allowed just two goals in its win over Sacred Heart last Saturday. The two goals allowed are the fewest by a Mount team since an 8-2 win over Saint Joseph's in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game on May 4, 2003. The Mount held the Pioneers off the scoreboard for the first 40:52 of the game.
DEFENSE: The Mount's improvement on defense has been a key factor in the team's play in 2015. The Mount is 11th in the nation in scoring defense (8.10) and 14th in caused turnovers per game (7.80). Last season, the Mount ranked 60th in the country in scoring defense (12.00) and 43rd in caused turnovers/game (6.63).
JOHNSON CATCHES FIRE: Redshirt sophomore Bubba Johnson leads the Mount with 15 goals and 21 points this season. Johnson scored a career-high four goals in the Mount's 12-11 win over Bucknell after recording a hat trick in the Mount's previous game, a 10-2 win over Sacred Heart. Johnson is averaging 3.3 points over the past three games with eight goals and two assists over that span.
NATIONAL LEADERS: Freshman goalkeeper Matt Vierheller is fourth in the nation in save percentage at 60.9 percent this season. Vierheller is also seventh in goals against average (7.35) and 13th in saves per game (11.50). Senior defender Kyle O'Brien is fifth in the country with 2.20 caused turnovers per game.
McCARTHY STEPS UP: Junior Frankie McCarthy got the start in the cage in the Mount's 12-11 win over Bucknell and responded with a career-high 19 saves. McCarthy was outstanding in the first half, making 14 saves while facing 30 shots. He added a pair of key caused turnovers in the fourth quarter while picking up four ground balls in the game. McCarthy is 1-1 with an 11.00 goals against average and a .511 save percentage in two starts this season.
VIERHELLER EARNS WEEKLY HONOR: Freshman Matt Vierheller was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week on March 30 after posting a 6.50 goals against average and a .581 save percentage in two games. The freshman was outstanding against Sacred Heart, allowing two goals while making 13 saves in the 10-2 victory. Vierheller is the second Mountaineer to earn Rookie of the Week honors this season, joining Mike Moynihan who grabbed the award on Feb. 16. The last time the Mount had multiple Rookie of the Week winners in the same season was 2010 when Andrew Scalley (two times), Brett Schmidt and Bryant Schmidt all won the award.
GOSNELL CATCHING ON: Junior Justin Gosnell, in his first season with the Mountaineers, has acclimated himself to the Mount lineup, posting 14 goals and three assists over the past eight games. Gosnell has scored 12 goals over the past six games, including a season-high three in the Mount's 11-8 loss to UMBC.
O'BRIEN HAS CAREER DAY VS. WAGNER: Senior Kyle O'Brien had a standout day on defense against Wagner with career highs of seven caused turnovers and seven ground balls. The seven caused turnovers are the most by a Mount player since Phil Thomas had five on April 14, 2007, against Manhattan.
EXPERIENCE ON DEFENSE: The Mount's trio of senior starters on defense includes Nick Firman, Kyle O'Brien and Alex Stefkovich. This season, the three have combined for 61 ground balls and 37 caused turnovers over the first nine games. O'Brien has 23 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers, Firman has 27 ground balls and eight caused turnovers, and Stefkovich has 11 ground balls and seven caused turnovers. The three combined for 90 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers last season.
TEAM CAPTAINS: Mike Daly, Nick Firman and Braedon Graham will serve as team captains for the Mountaineers this season.
UP NEXT: The Mountaineers hosts Saint Joseph's on Saturday, April 11, at 12:00 p.m., at Waldron Family Stadium.
